Rotary oil burner



Sept. 15, 1936. T. SWOT 2,0 4,601

ROTARY OIL BURNER v Filed April 2", 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet l Tbeopbilas H. 5271002? QKMMA Sept. 15, 1936. SMQOT 2,054,607

ROTARY OIL BURNER Filed April 2-5, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 awe/who; Tlieof hilzls 17. 777005,

Sept. 15, 1936. T. H. SMQOT 2,054,607

ROT'ARY OIL BURNER Filed April 25, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Tbeopbilud 11 777005,

Patented Sept. 15, 1936 PATENT OFFICE ROTARY 01L BURNER Theophilus H. Smoot, Baltimore, MIL, asslgnor to Anchor Post Fence Company,

Baltimore,

Md., a corporation of Maryland Application April 25, 1934, SerialNo. 722,381

Claims.

The present invention relates to rotary oil burners which are particularly useful for employment in connection with heaters for houses,

apartments, or institutional use, and which heaters are of the type that ordinarily burn coal and rely on natural stack draft or chimney suction for drawing air into the heaters and for conducting away the products of combustion. The rotary oil burner is also adapted to be applied to boilers of a type designed especially for use in connection with oil burners, and the rotary oil burner of the present invention maybe used on boilers originally designed for burners other than that of the present invention as well as boilers especially constructed for the rotary oil burner of the present invention.

' At the present time, one mode of creating heat by burning oil within the firebox or combustion chamber of such a heater and the supplying of the heat thus created to certain parts of the heater and particularly to those parts which provide the wall of the firebox or combustion chamber, is dependent upon the functioning of a rotary burner head-that centrifugally and horizontally projects the oil in atomized form over and into the upper portion of an air stream or strata maintained by a fan of the rotary head which causes the air to continuously move outwardly over and across a horizontally extending hearth defining the floor of the firebox or combustion chamber and relative to which hearth the burner head is generally centrally located.

} A rotating burner head such as Just referred to generally comprises an atomizingfuel element and an air fan both carried by and secured to the upper end of a motor shaft which is provided by a vertically extending shaft of therotor of an electric motor that is carried by the main frame of the burner.

The burner forming the subiectmatter of the present invention is designed for use in connection with hearth constructions of various types, but is particularly useful in connection with hearths having the arrangementand novel features of construction shown and described in my copending application filed May 17, 1934, Serial No. 726,139.

In some of the rotary oil burners as heretofore constructed attempts have been made to regulate the air flow from the fan by controlling the inflow of air to the fan. This, however, has certain objectionable characteristics, and one of the objects of the present invention is to provide a construction for enabling the flow ofair from the 55 fan to be regulated by means of a vertically ad justable air gate which cooperates with the main frame of the burner and with the delivery portion of the fan whereby the flow of air from the fan is directly dependent upon the vertical position of the air gate. o 6

It is also an object of the invention to permit a micrometer adjustment of the air gate so that by allowing only just the right amount of air to enter the combustion chamber wasteful recirculation will be rendered impossible.

In rotary oil burners it is advisable to employ a standard main frame, a motor and burner heads of different sizes, and an object of the present invention is to provide a construction whereby this can be accomplished so that if during the life of 15 the burner theboiler or furnace shouldhave to be replaced by a larger one a new head assembly may be supplied to fit the new boiler or furnace at 'a trifling expense.

It is also an object of the invention to provide :0 an oil atomizer constructed so that it is in effect aircooled by the functioning of the air fan with which it is associated and also so arranged in respect tothe air fan that-it is in effect sealed thereby and in fact, a construction that is such 25 that substantially the entire atomizer is surrounded by air as the airflows through the fan so that the atomizer will be protected from direct heat of the furnace by the air fan structure which will in eifect serve as a seal for the atomizer.

Another object of the invention is to protect from the direct heat of the furnace the nut or other fastening means for securing the fan and the atomizer to the vertical shaft of the motor, by arranging the nut in a depression in the fan. This will in effect prevent the direct heat of the furnace from being conducted through the rotor shaft to the motor.

It is also an obiect'of the invention to provide aburner construction which will permit the motor thereof to be readily removed, or any other part of the burner to be removed or changed as. for example, to supply an oil atomizer, an air fan or anair gate adapter of difl'erent size with a minimum amount of labor and at a low cost.

With these and other objects in view,, the invention consists in the novel construction. combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying so drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, and minor details of construction, within the scope of the claims, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantaxes of the invention.

In the drawings:-

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a rotary oil burner constructed in accordance with this invention, the motor being in elevation and the section being taken on the line ll of Fig. 5.

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the rotary oil burner partly in section to illustrate the arrangement of the oil tubes.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fi 6.

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view somewhat diagrammatic of a portion of a furnace illustrating a manner in which the rotary burner may be installed and used in conjunction with the heater of the type ordinarily used in homes, apartment houses and institutions.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the rotary oil burner.

Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 6-6 of Fig. 1. d

In the accompanying drawings in which is illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention l designates a burner main frame supported by legs 2 which provide a three point support, whereby when the rotary burner rests upon a firm foundation the main frame will be firmly supported so that it will not tilt or rock. Each leg comprises telescoping sections having an upper tubular section 3 which is connected to a portion of the main frame I by having the upper end 4 threaded and screwed into a threaded socket 5 of 9. depending boss 6 of the main frame I. The central portions of the three legs are connected by a C-shaped bracing yoke I having leg receiving bosses 8 provided with openings spaced substantially degrees from each other, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 6 of the drawings. Because of the yoke being c-shaped, there is provided a construction whereby an electric motor 8 may be removed by lateral movement through the open portion of the C- shaped yoke. The opening of each boss 8 of the yoke receives the lower exteriorly threaded end ill of the upper tubular section 3 and-is positively clamped in place between upper and .lower locking nuts II and II, the latter of which is interiorly threaded at l3 and I4. The upper nut H and the threaded portion I! of the lower nut l2 firmly engage and clamp the boss 8 between them. The interiorly threaded portion ll of the nut l2 receives a lower leg member I5 which is exteriorly threaded so as to screw into the interiorly threaded portion ll of the lower nutlZ.

The lower end of the lower leg member. i5 may be provided with a tip of rubber or other suitable material. Because of the locking eflect resulting from. the clamping action of the upper lock nut il functioning through the boss 8 to and upon the upper end of the lower lock nut ii, the latter in effect becomes a locked-on part of the upper tubular section 3. A look nut it which is arranged on the lower leg member [5 serves to lock the latter in place on the upper tubular section I. a

The several main parts of the burner are con-- structed of metal and when the C-shaped. yoke I is clamped in place on the severalv leg members there is provided a relatively strong rigid and stable construction whereby the burner thereof, as a whole, will remain properly positioned when once in place. Also by virtue of the adjustable leg structure, the rotary head of the burner can be properly positioned as to vertical height and also as to level or inclination according to the hearth upon which the burner is used.

The main frame which is substantially cylindrical is provided at the bottom with an inwardly extending integral horizontal plate I! and it also has an upper outwardly extending integral horizontal plate I! located at, an intermediate point between the top and bottom of the body portionof the main frame. The upper portion of the main frame extends above the upper horizontal flange and forms a cylindrical upwardly extending throat portion I! which forms a guide for a vertically movable cylindrical air gate II.

From the main frame plate I! is supported or carried from the underside thereof an electric motor 9 which may be held in place in any suitable manner, preferably by bolts 2! extending through bolt receiving openings 23 of lugs 14 and engaging threaded openings or sockets II in the bottom of the main frame, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The rotor of the motor has a vertical shaft 25 that extends upwardly from the motor and carries at its upper end a burner head 26 comprising a rotary oil atomizer 21 and a rotary fan 28. The rotary atomizer 21 which constitutes an oil atomizing and delivering member comprises an inverted cup-shaped body and oil ducts or tubes 1. leading from the inverted cup-shaped body of the atomizer. I

The cup-shaped body portion which is open at the bottom forms an upwardly and outwardly extending peripheral wall 30 and a horizontal top wall 21. Fromthe lower end of the peripheral wall 30 and integral therewith there extends an upwardly and inwardly inclined portion that forms a lip or flange II. The lip or flange ll diverges from the peripheral wall 30 and forms an annular oil receiving groove or gutter I! at the lower interior portion of the cup. The horizontal top of the cup-shaped body portion extends from the upper portion ofthe peripheral wall inwardly to the vertical shaft and is provided with a central shaft receiving opening 88. The upper terminal portion ll of the shaft is reduced and threaded and the reduction of the shaft forms a shoulder 35 upon which the in.- verted cup-shaped body portion of the atomizer is seated.

The rotary fan 28 has a body portion consisting of a disk having a substantially horizontal annular peripheral portion and a centrally depressed, tapered, approximately inverted, conical portion 36. vThe fan is provided at its periphery with an annular series of depending vertical fan blades 3,! located above the plane of the upper edge of the cylindrical body portion of the main frame, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 8 of the drawings. The oil ducts or tubes while being shown extending between the fan blades may be arranged in any other desired manner and while the disk which forms'the body portion of the fan may have the centrally depressed tapering portion such feature may, of course, be omitted, if desired.

The fan blades 31 are substantially rectangular and may vary in dimensions with the diameter of the fan. The centrally depressed body the vertical shaft 25. It will be noted that the depth of the depression it ofthe fan is sufficient for the nut to be practically protected against the direct efi'ect of fiames and products of combustion which at times tend to recirculate over the burner.

The cylindrical body of the burner frame is provided in its lower portion with an annular series of air inlet openings 4. and the throat portion ll of the burner body has its upper edge spaced from the horizontal peripheral portion of the fan body and the fan blades 81 are located at the said space. as clearly illustrated'in Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawings. The' efiective portion of the said space between the upper edge of the burner body and the peripheral portion of the fan .is controlled and adjusted by means of the verti-. cally adjustable air gate II which is cylindrical and slidably mounted at the inner face of the upper throat portion ll of the burner frame.

The vertically adjustable air gate is slidably mounted on pins ll carried by the throat portion of the burner frame atthe inner face thereof and extending into the" inclined slots 42 formed in the air gate. The inclined slots and the pins are arranged at intervals and when the cylindrical air gate is partially rotated by the means hereinafter described it is adjusted vertically for varying the eiiective size of the space between the burner frame and the periphery of the fan. The vertically adjustable air gate is located beyond the vertical planes'of and contiguous to the outerends of the fan blades and it is adapted to cover the fan blades to a greater or less degree according to itsadjustment.

The rotary or angular movement is imparted to the air gate by means of a yoke construction comprising ears 43 rigid with and depending from the gate member at opposite sides thereof and pivotally connected to the arms or sides of a yoke 44 which is curved to conform to the configuration of the burner frame. The yoke is provided with a centrally arranged arm forming a handle extension 45 which extends outwardly through one of the air inlet openings ll. The outer portion of the handle is arranged between spaced ears 4! depending from the upper horizontal iiange II and having threaded openings 41 for the reception of horizontal adjusting screws ll located at opposite sides of the handle ll of the operating yoke of the adjustable air gate and adapted to form a. micrometer'adjustment for the air gate.

The inner ends of the horizontal adjusting screws are arranged to abut against the side faces of the handle extension of the yoke and are adapted to clamp the same for holding the air gate at the desired adjustment. By adjusting the screws ll any vertical adjustment of the air gate within its range of movement may be made and after adjustmentthe air gate will be positively retained in its adjusted position. The pivotal connection between the ears 4! and the ends of the yoke plus the vertical yieldability of the yoke permits. vertical movement of the air gate withoutaflecting-the adjustment of the opersting-arm by the stop or adjusting screws ll. 'I'heears are preferably connected at their lower, ends by a horizontal connecting portion it to provide a guide frame for the handle portion of the lever, but any other equivalent means may. oi course, be employed for. adjusting the operating yoke and for securing the same and the air gate in their adjustment. The screws constitute stop members which may have their 3 inner ends positioned at various points between the spaced ears I! and the threads of the screws it through which oil is supplied generally in a relatively uniform manner or else according to the load requirements, to and through an upstanding pipe into the interior of the inverted cup-shaped body of the atomizer 21. As the vertical shaft it rotates the atomizer about its vertically extending axis, 'theoil delivered into the annular oil receiving space I! fiows upwardly on the inner face of the inclined peripheral wall ll of theatomizer as a film due to centrifugal force to the tubes 2! by which the cilia Y centrifugally delivered as a spray or in atomized form outwardly along a relatively horizontal plane. It will be clear from the drawings that because of the shape of the fan II and the arrangement of the disk or body portion of the fan over but in spaced relation to the oil atomizing and. delivering devicell, the air through the fan in eifect cools the oil atomising and delivering device andprotects the same from v the heat of the furnace, viz., from the heat resulting from the combustion of the oil and air supp ied by the burner. The upstandingpipe which passesthroughthe open bottom of the inverted cup-shaped body of the atomizer is of a length preferably to extend to the upper portion of the atomizer, as clearly shown in Fig. 8 01' the drawings. and its upper discharge end I! is preferably bent laterally for discharging the fuel directly against the peripheral wall of the atomizer.

The lower end of the upstanding pipe II is connected with a horizontal bore or passage II in the burner body by a suitable coupling 84 at the inner end of the passage and the supply pipe is connected by a suitable coupling ll with the outer end of the passage but the supply pipe may be connected with the upstanding pipe in any other suitable manner, as will be readily understood.

The vertically adjustable air gate 20 may be as illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings, provided with an adapter ring it suitably supported on and carried by the cylindrical body portion of the air gate in a manner permitting its removal and replacement when desired. The adapter ring which is arranged horizontally, is provided at its lower face with a peripheral recess ll forming a shoulder which. fits within the cylindrical air gate and interlocks the adapter ring with the air gate against horizontal or lateral movement. This will enable the adapter ring to fit firmly in proper position on the air gate without danger of accidental displacement in any vertical adjustment of the said air gate. The adapter ring forms a horizontal inwardly extending annular the blades of the fan through the vertical move ment of the air gate.

The burner frame and the air gate are constructed of a standard size and the adapter ring is adapted to be constructed with its inner periphery and the opening formed by the same of different diameters to accommodate burner head assemblies of different sizes. The burner head assembly comprises the fan and the atomizer and if during the life of the burner the boiler or furnace in which the same are used should have to be replaced by a larger one a new head assembly to fit in the new heating plant may be installed at a trifling cost due to the removable adapter ring which adapts burner head assemblies of different sizes for use in connection with the burner frame and air gate of a standard size. The adapter ring is provided at its innerperiphery with an upstanding annular flange 58 which increases the vertical dimension of the air gate and when the adapter ring is removed the air gate is adapted for use with a fan of increased size. By means of various adapter rings, fans of the required capacity may be used on any oil burner having a standard burner frame and a standard motor and air gate. The oil burner may be installed in connection with a heating apparatus as typified, for example, in Fig. 4.

From said Fig. 4, it will be noted that a rotary oil burner broadly designated as B is installed in association with a horizontally extending hearth H at the center of the hearth whereby atomized oil andair can pass outwardly over the hearth toward and in engagement with a marginal refractory structure S, such as is shown, described and claimed in the aforesaid application. With the normal operation of the rotary burner there results a fuel and flame stream of spiral formation designated by F. The products of combustion pass from the combustion chamber of the heater to the chimney flue in the usual way. The hearth construction and the manner in which the fuel is burned are fully described in the aforesaid companion application.

A salient feature of the invention resides in the interchangeable head assemblies to vary the diameter of the fan and also the diameter of the atomizer. By means of the interchangeable head assemblies atomizers with tube lengths corresponding proportionately to fan diameter may be employed. This is a great advantage as it will enable a small boiler or heater to be equipped with a small fan with properly proportioned atomizer tubes and a greater travel of the air and oil vapor over a heated hearth is thereby obtained than is possible were a fan of greater diameter and longer atomizer tubes used. Atomization depends upon peripheral speed at the tube discharge. By the present invention atomization is balanced with air velocity used in different sizes of fans.

What is claimed is: Y

1. An oil burner comprising a substantially vertical cylindrical burner frame, a motor actuated upstanding vertical shaft passing through the burner frame, an oil atomizer mounted on the upper end of and rotating with the said shaft, a fan also carried by the said shaft and provided at its periphery with fan blades located adjacent the upper edge of the burner frame, a vertically movable air gate for controlling the volume of air delivered by the fan and consisting of a cylindrical member associated with the upper portion of the burner frame and provided with inclined guiding means arranged to cause an upward or downward movement of the air gate when the latter is partially rotated, an operating member connected with the air gate for partially rotating the same, and stops located at opposite sides of the operating member and adjustable for positioning the air gate.

2. An oil burner comprising a substantially vertical cylindrical burner frame, a motor actuated upstanding vertical shaft passing through the burner frame, an oil atomizer mounted on the upper end of and rotating with the said shaft, a fan also carried by the said shaft and provided at its periphery with fan'zblades located adjacent the upper edge of the burner frame, a vertically movable air gate consistingpf a cylindrical member associated with the upper portion of the burner frame and provided with inclined guiding means arranged to cause an upward or downward movement of the air gate when the latter is partially rotated, an operating member connected with the air gate for partially rotating the same, and stop screws located at opposite sides of the operating member of the air gate for positioning the latter.

3. An oil burner comprising a substantially vertical cylindrical burner frame, a motor actuated upstanding vertical shaft passing through the burner frame, an oil atomizer mounted on the upper end of and rotating with the said shaft, a fan also carried by the said shaft and provided at its periphery with fan blades located adjacent the upper edge of the burner frame, a vertically movable air'gate for controlling the volume of air delivered by the fan and consisting of a cylindrical member associated with the upper portion of the burner frame and provided with inclined guiding means arranged to cause an up-' ,a fan also carried by the said shaft and provided at its periphery with fan blades located adjacent the upper edge of the burner frame, a vertically movable air gate for controlling the volume of air delivered by the fan and consisting of 0. cylindrical member associated with the upper portion of the burner frame and provided with inclined guiding means-arranged to cause an upward or downward movement of the air gate when the latter is partially rotated, a yoke pivotally connected with the air gate at opposite side: thereof andhaving an operating arm for partially rotating the air gate, spaced screw supporting portions rigid with the burner frame and having a connecting portion located beneath the operating arm of the yoke, said screw supporting portions being located at opposite sides of the said operating arm and having threaded openings, and adjusting screws mounted in the threaded openings and arranged to engage the operating arm of the-yoke for holding the air gate in adjusted positions.

5. An oil burner comprising a burner frame, a motor secured to and depending from the burner frame and having an upstanding shaft, a

fan mounted on the shaft of the motor above the burner frame and having air delivery blades, a

vertically adjustable air gate associated with the burner frame, a removable adapter ring seated on the air gate and surrounding the fan blades and carried by the air gate in the vertical adjustment thereof for controlling the volume of air delivered by the fan, and means located above the burner frame for discharging oil spray in substantial parallelism with the air discharged by the fan.

6. An oil burner comprising a burner frame, a motor secured to and depending from the burner frame and having an upstanding shaft, a fan mounted on the shaft of the motor above the burner frame and having air delivery blades, a vertically adjustable air gate associated with the burner frame, an adapter ring removably seated upon the air gate and having an upper portion of a different diameter from its lower portion surrounding the fan blades, said adapter ring being carried by the air gate in the vertical adjustment thereof for controlling the volume of air delivered by the fan, and means located above the burner frame for discharging oil spray in substantial parallelism with the air discharged by the fan.

7. An oil burner comprising a burner. frame, a motor secured to and depending from the burner frame and having an upstanding shaft, a fan mounted on the shaft of the motor above the burner frame and having air delivery blades, a vertically adjustable air gate associated with the burner frame, an adapter ring removably seated upon the air gate and composed of upper and lower vertical portions and an intermediate approximately horizontal connecting portion, the upper portion of the adapter ring being of a different diameter from the lower portion and surrounding the fan blades for controlling the an oil atomizer mounted on the upper end of the vertical shaft, a fan also carried by the vertical shaft and positioned adjacent the oil atomizer and having fan blades located adjacent the upper edge of the burner frame and arranged for centrifugally delivering air outwardly from said fan, a vertically adjustable air gate associated with the burner frame for controlling the volume of air delivered by the fan, and an adapter ring removably seated upon the upper edge of the air gate and forming an extension of the same and located at the delivery ends of the fan blades and surrounding the same.

9. An oil burner comprising a burner frame provided with air inlet openings and having an upstanding annular throat section, an air gate vertically adjustable with respect to the throat section, a motor located below the burner frame and provided with a vertically extending shaft passing through the burner frame, an oil atomizer carried by the upper end of the shaft and including outwardly extending oil delivery pipes, and a fan mounted on the shaft and positioned adjacent the oil atomizer and having a body portion provided with depending fan blades located within an area defined by the body portion of the fan, and adjacent the upper edge of the throat section, said fan blades and air gate being of such size relative to each other that the vertical adjustment of the air gate effects an embracing relation of the gate with the fan blades to regulate the volume of air delivered from the fan.

10. An oil burner comprising a frame, a rotating shaft upstanding in the frame, an oil atomizer mounted on the shaft above the frame including outstanding atomizing tubes, 8. fan also mounted on the shaft and positioned adjacent the oil atomizer, said fan including a body plate above said atomizing tubes and blades depending from said plate for centrifugally delivering air outwardly above the frame, and means slidable in the frame and shiftable into, and out of, em-

'I'HEOPHILUS H. SMOOT. 

